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[darth_cabal]

I went to see Flags of Our Fathers yesterday. It was good--the acting was mediocre at times, but subject matter of that intensity is very difficult, so I can't complain too much.

Somewhat relatedly, I have a question for anyone who has worked concessions at a movie theatre: are you required to suggest that customers add on to their order? More

Comments

[evareia]

I worked in a movie theater for 1 summer. Gah. I don't remember being told to ask 3 times, but we were definitely trained to upsell, upsell, upsell! I hated it, and only tried to upsell once. Conveniently, the customer was from Cannes, and was suckered in by my offer of more soda.

Supposedly management knows when you're a good upseller, and will give you raises and pretty surprises, but really I think they're just full of crack. Concessions is how a theater makes its money, so naturally it's okay for them to harrass you into poverty.

Summary: upselling is annoying and sucky.

[darth_cabal]

It seems like such a counterproductive practice. The more obnoxious the process becomes, the more likely I am to eat before and/or after going to the movies and avoid the concessions entirely.

Actually, I usually do that anyway. I just wanted to have SOMETHING filling my belly during the movie because I didn't have time to eat beforehand (I woke up with just enough time to shower and get to the theater in time to walk in just as the previews were ending).

[quintos]

We weren't required to up-sell, but then, we weren't a chain theater, or even a big one.

Also, I WIN!

[darth_cabal]

Also, I WIN!

Nay, it cannot be so!

[quintos]

And yet, it is. Funny how that works!

[ilora]

It is also possible that the guy feared you were a secret shopper and he'd recently gotten in trouble for not upselling, etc. I've had that put on me, before. I've actually had a vice president come to my line, the busiest line, on a Friday for the busiest show of the night/week, when I was sick, and got in trouble because I didn't push a combo. Granted, the managers who regularly worked with me said it was no big deal, it was just the general manager...>_< But, yeah, that sort of thing sometimes provokes job security paranoia. Otherwise, no, he shouldn't have offered you anything that many times, unless you kept saying yes each time he asked. :p

And spilling hot coffee on your lap HURTS! I did that on the drive back from Spring Break the year we went up to north Florida and hung out with you. I wasn't able to close my thighs for a while without wearing pants, it hurt so much!

[kayfin]

Secret Shopper? Snuh?

[ilora]

It's pretty common over here. There are these companies that hire people to actually go "shop" at various stores, etc. But the real job of these secret shoppers is to analyze how well (or poorly) the salespeople do their jobs. They have actual criteria they have to look for, and they report this back, which gets reported to the managers of the stores, and gives them an idea of how well their employees are doing. It sounds like an interesting job, but I know that I'm far too nice of a person to ever do something like that. *snicker*

[darth_cabal]

Comfort Inn has some dumbshit policies, too. They might sound good in theory, but they just create more work for us while simultaneously pissing off customers. We "forget" a lot.

[hopemadeflesh]

Well, at my Starbucks/Barnes and Noble Café we had to upsell drink size, bake case item, the Barnes and Noble card, and something else I cannot remember. However, we had to ask them if they were sure after each answer for each question. It tends to add up.

Flirting and upselling tend to go hand in hand, though. If I could flirt while upselling then I didn't have to feel like a corporate ass, just a promiscuous slut, which is infinitely preferrable. ^_^ (Are there two r's in that word?)

I don't know about movie theaters, but Jeff would, he worked at Famous Players (Canadian version of Tinseltown) years ago.

[darth_cabal]

However, we had to ask them if they were sure after each answer for each question. It tends to add up.

I think that the inadvisability of pissing off one's customers is compounded when you've just filled those customers with caffeine and sugar. I predict that Starbucks will suffer an epidemic of homicidal rampages.

[hopemadeflesh]

Sadly, this dream never came true while I was employed, as I anticipated huge improvements in our health coverage should daily murders become common.

[kayfin]

darth_cabal: OH SHIT COFFEE ON MY KEYBOARD

I too flashed back to:

Caish_in_UK: Ahhh! Fluffy! I just tipped my water bottle on him! Nooooooooooo!

::Ara & Kay laugh::

In conclusion, I concur with Ara. You need to stop drinking on your computer.

[darth_cabal]

Marvin is far hardier than Fluffy was--he can take it!